Washing-machine



(No Model.)

J. W. & J. W. A. CALHOUN. WASHING MACHINE.

Patented May 28, 1889.

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UNITED STATES JOHN WV. OALHOON AND JOHN W. A.

WASHING- OALHOON, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 403,986, dated May 28, 1889.

Application filed May 21, 1888. Serial No. 274,603. (No model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN W. CALHOON and JOHN W. A. OALHooN, citizens of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of W yandotte and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing-Machines and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to an improvement in washing-machines.

The object is to provide a machine which may be run eitherby power or hand, and which will eitectually rub the soiled clothing and extract the dirt therefrom without injury to the clothes by a sliding or chafing action.

A further object is to provide a machine which shall be simple and durable and capable of being furnished at a comparativelylow price.

\Vith these ends in view our invention consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts, as will hereinafter be described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical central section of the machine in a plane transverse to the rubbing-boards and operating-shaft, and Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section through the plane of the operating shaft.

A represents a tub. It may be of any ordinary construction, either semi-cylindrical or rectangular, as maybe desired. Its sides are preferably projected upwardly to form supports for the operating-shaft B. Standards of ordinary construction secured to the sides and projected upwardly a proper distance above the same would answer the same purpose as upwardly-projected sides and be their essential equivalent. The operating-shaft B is journaled in suitable bearings,'b, at or near the tops of the sides of the tub, and the said shaft is provided with a pair of cranks, O, of equal throw and located one at each end of the shaft in proximity to the sides of the tub. One end of the shaft B outside of the tub is provided with an operating-crank, D, and its opposite end outside of the tub is provided with abalance-wheel, E, for the purpose of regulating the motion of the shaft and assisting the rubbers in case of an unusualthickness orbunch of clothing being introduced between them.

The lower rubbing-board, F, corrugated on its rubbing-face, as is usual, is pivoted near its upper edge to the sides of the tub, as shown at f, and extends thence downwardly and rearwardly between the sides of the tub, its lower end being supported upon a pair of curved spring-arms, G, secured in position in proximity to the inner faces of the sides of the tub. The said springs G are conveniently secured to a cross-frame, H, attached to the inner faces of the sides of the tub.

The upper rubbing-board, I, is supported as follows: A pair of upper arms, K, are pivoted at their rear ends to the sides of the tub near the rear of the tub, and their forward ends are pivoted or hinged to the back of the upper rubbing-board near its upper edge. A pair of lower arms, 7c, are pivoted at their rear ends to the sides of the tub, and their front ends are hinged or pivoted to the upper rubbingboard near its lower edge. A pair of hangers, L, are loosely mounted at their upper ends on the wrist-pins of the cranks on the shaft B, and their lower ends are hinged or pivoted to the upper edge of the upper rubbing-board. The rear ends of the upper and lower arms, K k, are pivoted to the sides of the tub in such positions relative to each other that when the upper rubbin g-boardis raised by the first halfrevolution of the shaft B the upper edge of the upper rubbing-board will be gradually drawn rearwardly away from the face of the lower rnbbingboard, while the lower edge of the said rubbing-board will be at first drawn slightly toward the face of the lower rubbing board and then gradually drawn away from it a slight distance, and these same movements will be reversed as the crank-shaft completes its second half-revolution, returning the upper rubbing-board to its normal or depressed position. This motion of the upper rubbingboard will affect the clothes inserted between the rubbing-boards as follows: Suppose the clothes to be inserted between the boards when the upper rubbing-board is at its highest elevation and opened away from the lower rub- ICO ' board is supported at its lower edge on the spring-arms, as described, they will readily yield to permit the passage of unusual large bunches of clothing, and will cause the faces of the two boards to rest continuously in rubbing contact with the clothes so long as they remain between them. A single passage of the clothes between the rubbing-boards will usually be sufficient to thoroughly cleanse them. If, however, in special cases this should not be sufficient, they can readily be taken from the bottom of the tub and passed through a second time.

It will be observed that the peculiar movement of the upper rubbing-board is such that it will tend at all times to roll the clothes rather than to slide them along the corrugated o surfaces, and hence the liability to chafe and tear them will be materially reduced.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 3 5 The combination, with a tub, a lower rubbing-board pivotally secured in the tub, a cross-frame rigidly secured in the tub, and spring-arms secured to and projecting from said frame for supporting the lower rubbing- 40 board, of an upper rubbing-board suspended in the tub over the lower rubbing-board, a crank-shaft journaled over the tub, hangers connecting the crank-shaft and the upper edge 7 of the upper rubbing-board, and pivoted arms 45 connecting said upper board and tub, whereby the board is swung by the rotation of the crank-shaft in an irregular curved path, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our 50 signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. CALHOON. JOHN W. A. CALHOON.

\Vitnesses:

LENA MAoKoY, BESSIE E. YoUNo. 

